BRODHEAD - Chapter 431 of the Experimental Aircraft Association at the Brodhead Airport will dedicate a memorial to charter members of the chapter who have passed away at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
The memorial resides in the replica generator shed near the newly erected Airway Beacon Tower along Airport Road.
The historic beacon tower was once used as an air navigation aid for early airmail and airline pilots in the 1920s and '30s before modern navigation methods were used. Spaced about every 20 miles along routes between major cities, these towers once dotted the landscape. One stood for years on the corner of Riemer Road and Decatur-Sylvester Road in Decatur Township, on the route between Chicago and St. Paul.
EAA Chapter 431 acquired a beacon tower several years ago, and it was recently restored as an Eagle Scout project by Sebastian Adams and is a replica built to original plans. The adjacent generator shed was also built as an Eagle Scout project by Holden Whitledge. Landscaping and fencing around the tower was completed as a third Eagle Scout project by Brett Hammon.
The memorial will eventually honor all Chapter 431 members as well as the founders and early pioneers of Brodhead Airport who have Flown West. The dedication takes place during the annual Pietenpol/Hatz Reunion at the airport and will feature a short speech and tours of the project. Friends of Brodhead Airport and those interested in the project are welcome to attend.
For more information, visit www.eaa431.org, call 608-897-1175 or email webmaster@eaa431.org.
The memorial resides in the replica generator shed near the newly erected Airway Beacon Tower along Airport Road.
The historic beacon tower was once used as an air navigation aid for early airmail and airline pilots in the 1920s and '30s before modern navigation methods were used. Spaced about every 20 miles along routes between major cities, these towers once dotted the landscape. One stood for years on the corner of Riemer Road and Decatur-Sylvester Road in Decatur Township, on the route between Chicago and St. Paul.
EAA Chapter 431 acquired a beacon tower several years ago, and it was recently restored as an Eagle Scout project by Sebastian Adams and is a replica built to original plans. The adjacent generator shed was also built as an Eagle Scout project by Holden Whitledge. Landscaping and fencing around the tower was completed as a third Eagle Scout project by Brett Hammon.
The memorial will eventually honor all Chapter 431 members as well as the founders and early pioneers of Brodhead Airport who have Flown West. The dedication takes place during the annual Pietenpol/Hatz Reunion at the airport and will feature a short speech and tours of the project. Friends of Brodhead Airport and those interested in the project are welcome to attend.
For more information, visit www.eaa431.org, call 608-897-1175 or email webmaster@eaa431.org.
